For years, sitarist Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma has often been introduced as the “last and youngest disciple” of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar — a title he has referenced in several interviews while reflecting on his musical journey. Now, Pandit Ravi Shankar’s daughter and acclaimed sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar has addressed the claim, clarifying that Sharma was never formally initiated as her father’s disciple.
In a recent conversation with Humans Of Bombay, Anoushka spoke about the expanding horizons of the sitar and its growing presence across diverse audiences in India and globally.
“I think it’s really wonderful to see the sitar brought into its horizon the way it has, whether that’s within India or abroad. Having lots of people taking
it forward is a wonderful thing. I think anyone who can challenge the notion of sitar just belonging to a certain way or certain space — all of that is wonderful.” ‘There Is Some Misunderstanding About His Guruship’
While praising Rishabh’s talent, Anoushka addressed what she described as a misconception about his musical lineage.
“Rishab is really talented and he is clearly speaking to people in a really wonderful way. I think there is some misunderstanding about his guruship. He learnt very intensively with someone very dear to me, one of my father’s senior disciples Parimal Sadaphal, and he had a couple of lessons with my father, very informally, with Parimal uncle also in the room.”
She further explained that the families have shared a long association over decades.
“We knew him from childhood because he was the son of our instrument maker Sanjay Rikiram Sharma. So somehow that has gone blown up into some story of him being his last disciple or the youngest disciple, which isn’t true. But he is super talented and deserves all success with or without that story.”
Anoushka’s remarks place the emphasis on mentorship and association rather than formal discipleship, while firmly separating fact from popular narrative.
What Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma Has Previously Said
In earlier interviews, Rishabh had shared his own account of how Pandit Ravi Shankar entered his life as a mentor.
Speaking to Bani Anand, he recalled how a video of his early performance reached the maestro.
“My father Sanjay Rikiram took over my Guruji’s sitar work after my grandfather’s demise. From my first live concert, a video reached Guruji. He saw that video and called my dad and said, ‘Is this your son you are telling me about?’ My father said yes. Guruji said, ‘Whenever I am in Delhi, please bring him over.’ Once we were there, Guruji was like, ‘OK, take out your sitar and play for me a little bit.’ I played and then he picked up his guitar and played the same composition.”
He described the moment as life-altering.
“After that he turned to my parents and said, ‘With your permission, your kid has a lot of talent, I would love to be his guru and teach him,’ and I saw my parents’ jaw drop to the floor because God himself had come down and said, ‘Can I teach your child?’ So my dad didn’t have the courage to ask him. For him to offer to be my guru was amazing.”
According to Rishabh, this marked the beginning of his lessons.
“He turned to me and said, ‘I don’t know how much life I have left, but whatever I have, please take it from me as soon as possible,’ and I said I will try my best, Guruji. And then my lessons started after that.”
In another interview with WION, he reiterated the maestro’s influence on his musical thinking.
“I have to say it’s my Guru, Pandit Ravi Shankar. Whatever I know is because of him and his disciples who taught me after his demise. They showed me his way and it was not that they just taught me his compositions, but they taught me how to think like him. Guruji always said, ‘Don’t copy me, but think like me, understand my thought process,’ and I feel like I have adapted and incorporated that into my music. Probably that is why a lot of people say that my music reminds them of Guruji.”
Anoushka Shankar On Tour
Anoushka Shankar is currently concluding her Chapters Tour 2026 in India, marking 30 years of her career. At her Kolkata concert, Arijit Singh joined her and percussionist Bickram Ghosh for an extended 20-minute set — notably his first live performance after announcing retirement from playback singing.
About Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma
Hailing from the Rikhi Ram lineage of instrument makers, Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma blends classical training with contemporary sensibilities. Alongside the traditional sitar repertoire, he studied Music Production and Economics in New York City and has worked toward placing the instrument in modern musical contexts.
He is also the founder of Sitar For Mental Health, an initiative that uses music as a therapeutic tool for emotional well-being. Over the years, Sharma has performed for large international audiences and became the first sitarist to perform solo at the White House.
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